America with Special Guest Tom Fuller – Friday
Founding members, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell met in high school in London in the late 1960s and quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song “A Horse With No Name.” Forty plus years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound.
America’s journey has found them exploring a wide variety of musical terrain. Their best-known tunes, which also include “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross The River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair” were cornerstones of 1970’s Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of Gerry Beckley’s melodic pop rock and Dewey Bunnell’s use of folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with Dan Peek’s more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.
Opening for America will be Tom Fuller. Born and bred in Chicago, Tom’s “Freedom” album embodies the soul and creative energy of his hometown’s rich musical heritage. Combining the melodic pop-rock sensibilities of Cheap Trick and a will to evolve worthy of Wilco, “Freedom” also doffs its cap to Fuller’s love of classic English bands such as The Hollies and the Rubber Soul and Revolver-era Beatles.